Aircraft-based platforms are ideally suited for time sensitive emergency, as well as routine, sensing, search, monitoring, surveillance and response activities. Among the various types of equipment and methodologies employed to maximize the effectiveness of aircraft employed in these roles include the launch and telemetry control of sonotube compliant stores which can include air launched Miniature Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (MUAV's), smoke markers, illumination flares, communication radios, and Self Locating Data Marker Beacons (SLDMB's) common to those engaged in Search And Rescue operations (SAR). Other aircraft enhancements in support of these missions can also include manned observation systems which utilize specially positioned scanning chairs in conjunction with enlarged glazing surfaces typical of those used for SAR, aerial refueling, and missile scanning functions.
By way of example the Canadian Department Of Defense (DND) operates Lockheed Martin C-130 aircraft which are routinely engaged in SAR operations. DND achieves a limited capability to eject sonotube compliant stores and to undertake manned observation from these aircraft by utilizing a pallet mounted, paratroop door located, temporarily-installed, chair and un-pressurized door plug which can be equipped with a hand launched sonotube port and large flush glazed window. Unfortunately, precision stores deployment, Global Positioning System (GPS) location, payload control, and data, audio, or video telemetry from the stores is not possible without undertaking substantial modification to these aircraft. Further, DND cannot achieve Human Factors Engineering (HFE) compliance with Military Standard 1472 using the current palletized chairs or manned scanning techniques employed within the paratroop door plug flush mounted glazing system requires that the chair be positioned forward into the door plug for the SAR technician to achieve peripheral search maximization. The anthropomorphic problems associated with this abnormal and at times prolonged physical position when the observer cannot project his feet beyond the curvature of the fuselage are numerous. By way of contrast the United States Coast Guard (USCG) also uses the Lockheed Martin C-130 for SAR missions. However, the USCG has undertaken substantial Group “A” or permanent modification of their aircraft rear ramps to achieve precision sonotube delivery, telemetry, and control. The USCG also employs a forward pressurized flat glazing observation system with dedicated sonotube launch system located at the observer chair positions forward of the wings abreast both sides aft of the C-130 cockpit bulkhead. Although the USCG has achieved a degree of HFE compliance, again the chair positioning and flat glazing, limit the visual acuity of the observer.
Further, although competent companies like Benson Lund, of Essex, England have designed other observer chairs for stanchion posts, the challenge of integrating a temporarily-installed chair with extensive multi-axis HFE compliant positioning capabilities, which can fold away out of the cargo space, and can be sufficiently restrained to the aircraft structure to meet crashworthy loading criteria, does not currently exist.
Further underscoring current deficiencies associated with the control of jettisonable sonotube stores, new technologies exist which enable a host aircraft to launch and receive video and data telemetry from small MUAV's comparable to those manufactured by Advanced Ceramics Research, Inc. of Tucson, Ariz. USA, or as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,237, entitled “Sonotube Compatible Unmanned Aerial Vehicle And System” issued May 2, 2000 to Richard L. K. Woodland, and incorporated herein by reference. The sonotube control interfaces currently employed on USCG aircraft and like C-130 aircraft do not permit the visual analysis or advanced user interface and control of the deployed sonotube payload systems unless a palletized control system comparable to the Palletized Radar Operating System (PROS) currently used by the USCG on their HC-130 “Casper” aircraft can be employed wherein the air drop functions are again compromised due to the co-location of the control system pallet in the rear of the host aircraft cargo bay.
Similar deficiencies in other mission areas also exist wherein U.S. Air Force (USAF) Lockheed Martin MC-130's and U.S. Marine Corp (USMC) KC-130 aircraft regularly engage in nighttime air to air helicopter refueling operations. These missions require that a loadmaster or other crew member visually monitor the refueling operation from the paratroop door location through a small flush window, often in turbulent flight conditions wearing NVG's on a simple fold away non-crashworthy seat which can be also attached to the door. Under these conditions aerial refueling accidents have occurred resulting in lost and damaged aircraft.
Other situations involving hostile missile launch against large slower aircraft comparable to the Boeing C-17 during the critical take-off phase have also resulted in lost and damaged aircraft. In order to counter the vulnerability of aircraft to low altitude man portable missile launch, the USAF air Mobility Command's (AMC) Battle Lab has released a requirement for a manned bubble window observation system to substantially enhance the probability of undertaking successful evasive maneuvers or timely activation of other counter measures.
Further, although several types of aircraft are currently operated with bubble windows and sonotube ejection systems, typically these systems involve dedicated modifications that require a fleet of aircraft be modified to maintain mission readiness. Hence in most cases because these manned observation and sonotube mission kits are costly to install and upgrade, they are usually undertaken in the context of “minimum but adequate” and suffer performance deficiencies in light of optimal capabilities which could be achieved with fewer advanced technologies that are not permanently dedicated to one aircraft.
In pursuit of a prior solution, an aircraft door compatible manned observation and sonotube ejection system was described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,648, entitled “aircraft Based Sensing, Detection, Targeting, Communications, and Response Apparatus” issued Jul. 27, 1999 to Richard L. K. Woodland, and incorporated herein by reference. Although the Woodland invention can be able to accommodate temporary mounting of the system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,648 without incurring airframe modifications, it is completely reliant on a “mounting pallet” for installation which compromises all other backend air drop operations when the system is installed. Further, the Woodland patent does not address the temporary installation of an integrated door plug retraction system, multi-axis articulation of the observer chair, collapsible workstation, or unique form factor electronics and processing racks independent of a pallet assembly.
Currently prior art, and practices associated with resolution of the aforementioned deficiencies are inadequate, costly, preclude simultaneous air drop operations, inhibit upgrade, increase the probability of aircraft accidents during refueling operations and leave large slow moving cargo aircraft vulnerable to low altitude missile threats. Accordingly there is an on-going, unaddressed need to achieve a flexible, rapidly installed, non-dedicated airborne manned observation and sonotube launch and control system mounting methodology for fixed and rotary wing cargo aircraft that does not interfere with air drop operations, and does not require a pallet for installation.